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Summer nightmare

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P&O Cruises | Aurora

By David Hardy on 16 August 2017

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We have recently returned from a 17 night Med cruise having done pretty much the self same cruise last year. Check in was slick and professional and the embarkation lounge luncheon and drinks service great as always. Sadly that was where it all started to go wrong as it was clear within a day or so that the behaviour and attitude of the guests left a lot to be desired. For example the pool usage was pointed out in the muster message but that didn’t stop the adult only pool being populated with children. Apparently you could smoke where you felt like it and when I challenged someone I was told to *** off. Leggings with a t-shirt and flip flops or hoodies with jeans from Matalan are the new smart casual but as usual it was let go as the staff avoid confrontation at all costs. On the evening of Sibenik in the Beach House the menu had changed and the great meat kebab/skewer has now gone ( I was told complaints were made that it went cold too quickly – yet the seafood one is still on!!) and is even more like an american diner with ribs in coke?! and macaroni cheese. Added to that the other half of the deck was populated by loud mouths who were screaming and shouting most of the evening – no challenge of course. They were the same loud mouths who played a ghetto blaster on the open decks so loud it drowned out the music provided. Children seemed to think that playing cards outside the middle pool using milk sachets as chips was appropriate. If they lost a hand they drunk the sachets they had bet and proceeded to leave them anywhere. At the end of the game they left them strewn everywhere including the floor and because they had been handled the staff had to throw about 40-50 unused ones away. It seems to be a worrying trend and a reflection of society in general and according to a friend on Azura as I write the same is happening there. Of course their £ to spend is as good as mine but from 12 months ago I have gone from wanting to recommend friends to P&O to not doing so. Some might point out that happens in Summer but that isn’t a argument that holds any credence as it should not matter when you travel. On a positive note we did the galley brunch which was excellent and on formal nights there was a great buzz about the place especially in Anderson’s. Sibenik was a bit of a trek having to use a tender and then a shuttle but was worth it and Cagliari was excellent as Dubrovnik always is.